Archival Collections

The Missouri Valley Room houses more than 200 special collections of archival materials.  These historically significant collections help to document the history and development of the Kansas City area through photographs, postcards, scrapbooks, correspondence, diaries, organizational records, maps, and a variety of other materials and ephemera.  

Some noteworthy collections include: scrapbooks, reports, photographs, and other items collected by the Kansas City Police Historical Society; a large collection of maps and architectural drawings relating to the built environment of the Kansas City Stockyards; the extensive Mrs. Sam Ray Postcard Collection; correspondence submitted to the Liberty (Mo.) Tribune for publication in the newspaper from 1832 to the 1880s; records of the South Central Business Association; over 1,000 city, state, and regional maps; and sizeable collections of area theater and concert programs, locally-produced sheet music, and advertising cards.  The Library’s archives are also maintained here as well as some material from the Kansas City School District.  

Missouri Valley Special Collections preserves and provides access to these collections for reference and research use.  Descriptive finding aids and inventories for these collections are available via the lists below as well as the Local History Index.  Digitized images from these collections may be found by searching or browsing the website by topic or collection.

• Inventory of Photograph Special Collections (P) Numbers
• Inventory of Special Collections (SC) Numbers

Interested in donating your Kansas City-related historical materials?  Contact us at 816.701.3427 or use the contact form  to connect with a staff member about the donation process.